Presidential Election: How the Indian President is Elected

The Indian President enjoys a term of 5 years in office, unless removed earlier by the Parliament. After every years the Presidential election takes place.

This article goes into the details of the Indian Presidential elections, the eligibility, the actual election process, how votes are calculated, share of states in the vote and disputes, if any, regarding the Presidential elections.

Article 59 of the constitution of India states any Indian fulfilling the following requirements is eligible to become president of India:

(i) must be a citizen of India;

(ii) must have completed the age of 35 years;

(iii) must be qualified for election as a member of the Lok Sabha;

(iv) must not hold any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State or under any local authority subject to the control of any of these Governments

In short a person who is eligible to become a member of lower house and aged more than 35 years is eligible to become President.

Procedure for the Election of the President-Indian president Election 2017 Pdf -Presidential Election 2017 process

Article 54 of the constitution says:

“The President shall be elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of –

(a) The elected members of both Houses of Parliament and

(b) The elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States (including National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Pondicherry vide the Constitution 70th amendment Act, 1992).”

Note: The electoral college does not include

Nominated members of both the Houses of the Parliament

Nominated members of State Assemblies

Elected as well as nominated members of State Legislative Councils.

Nominated members of Legislative Assemblies of Delhi and Puducherry

Voting by Proportional Representation:

Article 55(3) of Indian Constitution requires that the President should be elected in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.

It prevents the exclusion of minorities from the benefits of the State, and to give each minority group an effective share in the political life.

Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used. In India, MLCs and MPs to the Upper House are elected using this scheme. Proportional Representation means that the number of seats won by a person/party is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system, if 50% of voters voted for a party then roughly 50% of seats will be won by that party.

Value of the vote of an MLA = (Total population of state)/(Total number of elected members in the assembly*1000)

Value of the vote of an MP= (Total values of votes of MLAs)/(Total no.of MPs)

All the votes are added to the Electoral College which amounts to 4,896 electors. This electoral college comprises 776 MPs and 4,120 MLAs from across the country.

The total value of MP votes is 549408 votes and the total value of MLA votes is 549474 votes. While value of MLA vote can differ between states and UTs as depicted above, the value of an MP vote is 708. The total value of votes of the electoral college is 1098882 votes.

The minimum number required to elect the president is 549442.

Note :1971 census is used to calculate the vote value for each MP/MLA.

Important points:

The President shall be elected by the members of an electoral college; hence, indirectly elected by the people. The electoral college consists of —

Elected members of the Rajya Sabha (upper house of the Parliament of India);

Elected members of the Lok Sabha (lower house of the Parliament of India);

Elected members of each state Vidhan Sabha or Legislative Assembly (lower house of the state legislature); and

Elected members of each union territory possessing an Vidhan Sabha or Legislative Assembly (i.e. National Capital Territory of Delhi and Puducherry). This was possible only after the 70th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992.

Only elected members can vote; the nominated members of the Parliament or the State Legislative Assembly aren’t eligible to vote in this. There are 12 nominated members in Rajya Sabha & 2 nominated members in Lok Sabha.

Member of the Vidhan Parishad or Legislative Council can’t vote. This is because only seven out of twenty-nine states of India have a Vidhan Parishad.

The election will be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation. Until 2026, the necessary calculations are to be done by the 1971 census (as per the 84th Constitutional Amendment Act).